Discrete semiconductor devices such as diodes are typically provided in a package when marketed. The package protects the discrete semiconductor device from accidental damage and provides the contacts for integrating the discrete semiconductor device in a larger electronic device, e.g. by mounting the discrete semiconductor device on a carrier such as a printer circuit board (PCB). In the known packaging approaches, the package contacts are typically fan-outs of the contacts of the discrete semiconductor device, i.e. have a larger area, as manufacturing approaches to reproduce the small dimensions of a discrete semiconductor device at the package level in a straightforward and cost-effective manner are currently unavailable.
As a consequence of the ongoing miniaturization of semiconductor devices including discrete semiconductor devices, the corresponding package sizes have to be miniaturized as well. This, however, is not trivial, as the fan-out of the package contacts poses a lower limit of the dimensions of the package. For instance, for diode packages, it is difficult to miniaturize the package beyond dimensions of 0.6 mm×0.3 mm×0.3 mm. Such packages are also referred to as 0603 packages.
Such discrete semiconductor packages are commonly manufactured using a lead-frame package design, in which the connection from the semiconductor die or crystal to a carrier contact is provided via a wire bond. However, miniaturization beyond the dimensions of the 0603 packages makes it cumbersome and time-consuming to apply wire bonds, thus making the use of such connections practically unfeasible.